2024 Washington wildfires
Natural disasters in the USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2024 Washington wildfire season were a series of wildfires that had been burning throughout the U.S. state of Washington.
| 2024 Washington wildfires | |
|---|---|
Retreat Fire from Rimrock Lake | |
| Date(s) | March 2024 – December 2024 |
| Season | |
← 2023
2025 → | |
Background
While the typical "fire season" in Washington varies every year based on weather conditions, most wildfires occur in between July and October.[1] However, hotter, drier conditions can allow wildfires to start outside of these boundaries. Wildfires tend to start at these times of the year after moisture from winter and spring precipitation dries up. Vegetation and overall conditions are the hottest and driest in these periods. The increase of vegetation can make the fires spread easier.[2]
Events
Predictions for the 2024 fire season made by the National Interagency Fire Center in June 2024 included temperatures above normal and precipitation below normal, due to the ENSO transition to a La Niña pattern, resulting in an above normal fire potential for Western Washington in July through September.[3]
On July 10, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources announced a burn ban on its lands that would last until at least September 30. The ban was issued in response to several large, human-caused wildfires amid the statewide drought emergency and drier-than-normal weather across Washington. The largest fire at the time was the Pioneer Fire in the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest near Lake Chelan, which had grown to more than 12,000 acres (4,900 ha).[4]
On October 30, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources announced the end of the 2024 fire season.[5] Over 300,000 acres were burned by wildfires in Washington state in 2024.[6]
List of wildfires
The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), or produced significant structural damage or casualties.
| Name | County | Acres | Start date | Containment date[a] | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer | Chelan | 38,735 | June 8 | October 3 | Town of Stehekin ordered to evacuate (by boat) on the morning of July 28[8] | [9] |
| Nisqually John | Whitman | 1,221 | June 14 | June | [10] | |
| Beam Road | Yakima | 8,542 | June 15 | June 18 | [11] | |
| Neff Road | Walla Walla | 1,435 | June 15 | June | ||
| Slide Ranch/Mission Road | Yakima | 3,106 | June 22 | July 9 | Began on Yakama Reservation, arson | [12][13] |
| Joe Barker Road | Walla Walla | 1,436 | July 3 | August 14 | ||
| Road 11 | Ferry | 1,422 | July 4 | July | [14] | |
| Cougar Creek | Asotin, Garfield | 24,095 | July 15 | August 29 | [15] | |
| Swawilla | Ferry & Okanogan | 53,462 | July 17 | August 15 | Closed State Route 21 and Keller Ferry, evacuations of Keller and the Buffalo Lake area | [16] |
| Easy | Okanogan | 2,130 | July 17 | October 1 | Closed North Cascades Highway (SR 20) | [17][18][19] |
| Miners Complex | Snohomish, Skagit | 1,098 | July 19 | October 31 | [20] | |
| Bridge Creek | Ferry | 3,998 | July 19 | August 4 | [21] | |
| Davin Road | Franklin | 1,948 | July 21 | July | ||
| Black Canyon | Yakima | 9,211 | July 22 | August 1 | [22] | |
| Bighorn | Klickitat | 51,569 | July 22 | July 30 | [23] | |
| Retreat | Yakima | 45,601 | July 23 | August 23 | Closed US-12, caused evacuations and county-wide declaration of emergency | [24] |
| Lower Granite | Garfield | 14,482 | July 29 | August 2 | At least one structure destroyed. | [25] |
| Williams Mine | Skamania County | 13,092 | August 5 | November 1 | People near Trout Lake evacuated; Mount Adams Wilderness and part of the Pacific Crest Trail closed | [26][27][28] |
| Calcite Creek | Okanogan | 4,500 | August 5 | August 25 | Pyrocumulus cloud generated a few miles away in Manning Provincial Park, Canada; NOAA potential fire alerts less than a mile from the border; Pasayten Wilderness trails closed beginning August 6. | [29][30][31] |
| Ruby | Whatcom | 1,336 | August 9 | October 31 | [32] | |
| Road 2620 | Jefferson | 445 | August 14 | August 28 | Roads and trails including Mount Jupiter trail closed, homes threatened around Duckabush | [33] |
| Stayman | Chelan | 3,118 | August 20 | August 24 | [34] | |
| Goosmus | Ferry | 1,738 | September 25 | October 4 | [35] | |
| Long Hollow | Whitman | 4,000 | September 26 | September 27 | [36] | |
| Jack Wells | Okanogan | 8,373 | October 1 | October 21 | Evacuations for parts of Brewster. | [37] |
Notes
- Containment means that fire crews have established and secured control lines around the fire's perimeter. These lines are artificial barriers, like trenches or cleared vegetation, designed to stop the fire's spread, or natural barriers like rivers. Containment reflects progress in managing the fire but does not necessarily mean the fire is starved of fuel, under control, or put out.[7]